


Daddy's Girl

by jezebel the temptress (jezebel)



Series: Who's your daddy? [2]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-26
Updated: 2010-07-26
Packaged: 2017-10-10 19:52:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/103648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jezebel/pseuds/jezebel%20the%20temptress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Sequel to "Who's Your Daddy?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daddy's Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Written during/around Obsidian Butterfly - all following books aren't mentioned/acknowledged.

Part 1 – That left undone.

Edward didn't leave town straight away, it was unusual for him, he usually skipped town as soon as the killing was done. If Anita hadn't been tied up with playing the doting mother (a role that was new to her and Julianna) she might have noticed something. Richard was too busy to spot it either, with Jamil gone and the extra guard duty from holding the werepanthers prisoner no one noticed the missing Vamps. In fact, it wasn't until Dolph came knocking that anyone commented on the serial killer that had taken out 45 Vampires in the city in a matter of days. Dolph had no leads, one of the reasons he had come to Anita despite her possible involvement and her recent distance from the department. As he had told Zerbrowski, her help couldn't do much worse than the lack of clues they had at the time.

"What do you know about this Anita?" Dolph asked as he watched her holding the toddler on her knee, they sat in more of a boudoir than a playroom and if he had not witnessed the child with her before he would have thought that she looked out of place there and would question Julianna's parentage.

"There has been a wall of silence in the district and even Dave is not being forthcoming with information." Dolph continued, he suspected that they were under orders but was not about to make any assertions that he could not prove, not when he was surrounded by monsters.

"They weren't old, none of them were Jean-Claude's inner circle and I'm pretty sure that you knew all of that, what else can I tell you?" Anita asked. The innocence may have worked if Dolph had not seen her kill nearly a dozen monsters, she had an air of innocence but he knew it was a mask, maybe that was what made her a monster. Anita was beginning to resent the fact that Julianna was there, this had the potential to get messy and the fact that she was holding a baby hampered drawing a gun.

"Maybe you could start with where you've been for the last three days." Dolph said, and there was no humour in his voice. "Bert says that you didn't show up for work."

"Bert says a lot of things." Anita replied flatly, emotion was not required to show that she was angry. "Julianna had a tantrum, I took some time off to be with her. People are already vilifying me as a bad mother because I'm dating the Master of the City, I can't ignore her completely." This was a dig at Dolph, who had been very vocal about the fact that he disapproved of her even before giving birth to the child. "About a dozen people can back up the story that I haven't left here in three days."

"Any of them human?" Dolph asked candidly, he might be annoying but one of the redeeming qualities was that he was honest.

"I didn't realise that they had changed the criteria for being a credible witness in a court of law." Anita replied. "I really don't know what else I can say."

"No, I guess there really is nothing more to say." Dolph replied as he turned to leave.

He knew that Anita was lying but there was nothing that he could do about it. She would have twenty or more witnesses that would swear that she was at the Circus for the three days of the killings, even if she had not been Jean-Claude could order them to do it, a lot of Vampires were more scared of the Master of the City than of the police. He hated to do it but maybe it was time to cut Anita loose, RPIT were just getting a reputation for good work and reliable cases and he wasn't sure that he could allow such a loose cannon to remain on the team. It would be a sore loss to them, Anita had been involved in nearly half of their cases, she was a good consultant and would have made an even better cop, but then she was also far too trigger happy for the force and that made her a liability. Maybe he could still involve her on an informal basis, or at least get her help on the tougher cases, that way they would still have her expertise but she would not actually be a member of the team. He sighed, whatever happened he had lost a good colleague and friend.

After Dolph left, Anita called the number she had for Edward, it was not surprisingly disconnected. She didn't need any evidence or police to tell her that he had done the killings, the only thing that she could not find was a motive – somehow, bloodlust did not seem enough. The answer, or at least as much as an answer as you would ever get from Edward came two days later with the daily post.

The parcel had no real discernable features, which meant that it was treated with a little trepidation, at least until Anita recognised the writing. Amongst the shredded papers (what looked like an old copy of the St Louis Post) was a small box, inside was a silver cross on a pendant with a tiny vial in the centre. Anita was pretty sure that it contained holy water. The only note attached was addressed to her and was held in a creamy envelope. The note inside was simple.

"I've done my part now you do yours – Keep her safe."

The gift was obviously meant for Julianna, the message for Anita. Anita knew that it was the only admission one would ever get from Edward that it was him that had done it. He didn't say goodbye but she guessed that he had left town when the killing stopped, probably gone to do a job that paid. She also knew that it would probably be a time before he was in the vicinity again.

Dolph sent word too, that Anita was off the force and that the victims had been linked but the perp was still at large; Anita knew it already. Malcolm's church had folded and those members that were still alive were fleeing the city in their droves. Anita knew that Dolph had his work cut out if he was still looking for the killer, but she was off the force and she had her own worries, such was the way when you were tied to the Master of the City.

\-----------------

Part 2 - Taking care of business.

Once she was sure that Julianna was down for the night Anita decided that it was time that she saw to the guests that they had staying with them. There were only four nights until the full moon and Richard had expressed concerns that with their added strength and without the Werewolves to watch them that the panthers would attempt escape. Anita's solution was to deal with them before that night came. She entered the holding cell (what had been the main room of the circus) with her knives on show and a Browning hanging limply at her side. Usually she would not have waded into a lycanthrope filled room but they made sure that the wolves and leopards outnumbered the prisoners two to one and she knew that with their help there was no way she would be hurt, it may have seemed big headed but she knew her pack.

"So, which one of you wants to tell me why I shouldn't order you all killed?" Anita asked as she entered the room. There was no bullshit, she was having a bad week and the fact that they were adding to it did not bode well for them.

One of the panthers began to crawl toward her, his stance submissive as he looked down at the floor and did not even attempt to get too close, he was merely showing his subservience.

"Please Mistress, we did not know." He said. "Michael sent us here to work but we did not know these are your lands."

"They are not. She is merely Lupa." Sylvie, who had reluctantly taken guard duty said. She had long hated the fact that Richard had chosen a human for his lupa and didn't really like Anita too much.

"Lukoi do not rule in the lands of the pard." Zane said curtly, Anita would find out later that he had been talking to some of the panthers and had found out a little more than they had known about the structure of pard. "They did not know that they were entering the lands of Nimir-Ra, to do so would be an act of war."

"Michael did not know." The submissive said, he was blonde and young and despite his strength reminded Anita very much of Nathaniel, he had that look as if he were anyone's meat.

"Michael was their leopard passant, like Gabriel." Zane said, ignoring the few protests from the prisoners that he was their leader. "He didn't sell them to pornography but as mercenaries and cannon fodder. The highest bidder gets the wares."

"So you were sent to kill the child of a Nimir-Ra?" Sylvie asked heartlessly, "and you complied."

"We had no choice." A second of the prisoners said, this time a darker one with a little more confidence than the first.

"What would pard law have me do with them?" Anita asked Zane.

"If they were pack you would kill them." Sylvie interceded. Anita sighed, she knew that there was a member of the pack that she wanted to kill at that moment but it was not for breaking the rules, it was just for getting on her nerves.

"She speaks the truth, it would be customary for you to kill us." The blonde said as he bowed his head, as if mourning the life that he had not yet lost. Anita had a flash of wondering if his life had been as hard as Nathaniel's and she suddenly felt an affinity for him.

"*She* is your superior…" Sylvie said as she began to advance on the quaking blonde, Anita was at the end of her tether as it was and put up the Browning, pointing it at Sylvie.

"Back off Furry." Anita said harshly, there was a loud gasp and it took a moment for her to realise what she had done. Marianne and Verne were teaching her pack law and how to keep the pard as a healthy unit but she had forgotten for a moment that she held more than one role as Anita Blake. Her actions, defending the boy against Sylvie had shown that she was willing to protect at least him, she was willing to bet that this mean that she had just decided that she was their protector too.

"I told them…" The blonde said. "Nathaniel said that you were Queen but the others doubted, I never doubted." He had tears in his eyes as he looked up. "You will rule us won't you?" There was a childishness in his eyes and to Anita's shock she realised that he was possibly even younger than Nathaniel had been the first time she had seen him.

"What's your name?" Anita asked as he looked at her with hope and fear in his eyes.

"Caleb" He answered softly. "Caleb Matthews."

"Well Caleb, I'm going to give you all a choice. Those that want to stay and join the pard can do so, anyone not willing to accept that are free to leave but if you're not out of the city by the full moon you'll be hunted." This was the words of a lupa, giving her wolves the hunt that they required, that they so thirsted for.

Anita knew that she had done the right thing as soon as she saw the sobbing Caleb getting comforted by the older one that had dared to speak (she later found out his name was Alex.)

"It's okay" He told Caleb. "She's here now. We're safe."

She didn't care what Richard would say, she had done what needed doing and had put her pard first, she just hoped that it didn't affect her position as Lupa, the last thing they needed was a problem with the other lycanthropes in the city.

\----------------------

Part 3 - Following through.

The panthers were fighters, many had been mercenaries in a number of small skirmishes and some in bigger wars, but all were tired. Of the twenty-two that were captured, nineteen asked to stay – the others were long gone by full moon. It seemed strange that they melded so well with the group and so quickly but within a week those that had stayed were well on the way to getting their lives back on track. The werepanthers brought the added strength that the pard had lacked and although some were as damaged mentally as the leopards they had much more physical strength than their weaker cousins. Anita knew that her pard was strong and that made her glad that she had asked them to stay, it only added more strength to the monsters of the city and if war ever came back that could only be a good thing.

The next few weeks were eerily quiet in the City, most would treat the off time as vacation, a period in which to remember what it was like to be normal and relax but Anita was now resigned to the fact that she was not normal, she was one of the monsters and one of the biggest at that. The silence was not a vacation but a time to shore up defences and regroup, nor was it a time that they could worry any less, it could just as easily be the calm before a storm than be time off.

The wolves did not take too kindly to the stronger Pard on their soil but the rules had come down from the Lupa that there was to be no infighting. Richard had negotiated that they would not be allowed to the Lupanar or to other lukoi only meetings and that placated the pack somewhat but Anita was sure that there would be some blow up, she was more worried about the growing strength of her daughter however who was inexplicably waking as soon as the sun went down just as a Vampire would and was even stronger than before.

Anita supposed that it was the mark from Asher, she was so used to her own marks now and what she could do with them that she had almost forgotten what the first was like, Julianna was still very much human but she had a little less vulnerability to death, there were also the added bonuses to Asher who would be able to experience food again and walk in her dreams. It was the fact that Julianna seemed to want to spend so much time with a Vampire that was not her father that worried Anita. She supposed that time would tell how much the mark had affected the girl.

The only truly good thing about their closer bond was that Asher was bound more tightly to the family and he would stay, Anita knew that he needed Jean-Claude as much for the companionship as for the strength, but moreover it gave them a strong power base of two Masters. Anita was happy with the strength that they had and hoped that the consolidation would help her get back to work, if nothing else she needed to start raising the dead again, her power was amassing and if she did not use it she was liable to start going insane. Anita went back to Animators Inc just in time to help Dolph out with a case of a rogue Witch who was using Death Magic to try and foretell the future. Anita knew that she was getting back into it by the third night of coming in late. She like thousands of other women was getting into the working motherhood, she shared the responsibility of a child with Julianna's two fathers and by Julianna's first birthday they had a good system worked out. Anita came in early from work and would stay with her child in the morning, one of the lycanthropes babysat if Anita needed sleep but if not she had Julianna until Richard came home in the afternoons. Richard took her until later when either Jean-Claude or Asher watched her while she slept and Anita was at work. It was not an ideal situation and many would argue that the amount of monsters was unacceptable, but that was her family and more importantly it would be her world.

\------------------------

Part 4 - David

"Richard, I really do not have time for this." Anita said as she picked up the phone. The cell phone was a new addition to her kit of things that she had to have with her and she hated it, for the first time people could track her wherever she went but it was useful to have in case she needed to call for back up.

"Anita, it's an emergency." Richard said, there was no real tone of urgency in his voice though and that calmed Anita, if it had been a problem with Julianna he would sound more harried.

"I have three zombies to do tonight and a different client to meet." Anita said. "I can't really fit in anything else before sunrise."

"Fine. I'll meet you at the Circus at 6am. Try to get there on time." He said before hanging up. Anita sighed, that meant that Richard was angry, she hated it when he got angry it always put her in a bad mood too. She was sure that she would find out soon enough what it was all about. Grabbing the chickens she headed off to meet the first set of lawyers for the night, it was a will raising, one of the easiest things about her job, she just hoped that the other calls that night would be as simple.

\------------------

Jean-Claude was getting ready to retire when he heard the loud screech from the end of the corridor, Asher had Julianna that night while the Master sorted out some of the problems that came with running a city. Still it may be that the little one was causing a problem for the other Vampire, opening the door he was surprised to feel the rush of power that could only mean one of his trio was approaching. A moment later Richard rounded the corner with a wriggling toddler in his arms. At first glance it was just a small lump but as he got closer the Vampire noticed that it was not a lump at all but a child, probably two or three and a little older than Julianna but a child all the same.

"Jean-Claude, this is David." Richard said as he restrained the small wiggly boy against his lean chest. David gasped a little and recoiled as he saw the Vampire, he was obviously aware enough of who the man was to be afraid.

"NO!" David said loudly, his voice carrying across the corridor. "I want my Mommy."

"Who is the child Richard?" Jean-Claude said with a sniff. "I thought that it was Anita and not you that was in the habit of taking in strays."

"Actually Lillian brought him over, it appears that David was left at the hospital." Richard said.

"And we have to trace his parents?" Anita asked, she had heard the scream too and was advancing cautiously towards them, only now lowering her weapon. "Or are you just babysitting for the night?" The tone was sarcastic, she knew now what the something important that he had wanted to talk about was squirming in his grasp.

"He needs a family Anita, his parents abandoned him at the hospital." Richard said as he switched David so that the boy was sitting on his hip, despite his superhuman strength it was clear that he had been carrying the boy for a while and for that time David had been wriggling.

"That is what the authorities are there for." Anita said, she knew that it was not that simple but he looked like a cute kid, if they couldn't find his natural family then she was pretty sure that a good foster home could be found.

"He's a rat Anita. Probably a bad dose of the new 'child-safe' vaccine." Richard said, the final phrase spat as if it was poisonous, he too had fallen foul to a bad dose of the medicine that he wanted outlawed, the problem was that they were testing a new one now that was meant to be safe, it was apparently not working as well as they had hoped.

"You don't know what it's like out there Anita, they don't understand lycanthropes and to be one as a child is even worse. The few cases of feral children have all ended with the kid being subjected to tests or locked up in an institution." Richard said. "Look at him and tell me that you can let him go through that."

"So why is he here?" Anita asked pertinently. "Even if there is nowhere else for him to go surely Rafael should take care of him." She said, pack took care of pack and pard took care of pard, she assumed that it was the same with the rats.

"He already took him there and Rafael told him to take him to the authorities too." Jean-Claude guessed. Richard looked down at the child in his arms and then back up. "So he brought him here hoping that he could appeal to your better nature as a mother and Lupa."

"Richard, we can't interfere in their business. How would you feel if someone told you how to run the pack?" She asked, again Richard did not have an answer to her question. "Fine. He can stay for a few days but if we can't resolve this then I *will* call the social services and report this." Anita said, Richard hoped that over the next few days David would grow on them and she would want him to stay, he did not want this child to end up like the last one that he had seen.

\--------------------

"NO. MINE!" David shouted as he grabbed at the toys that sat on the floor, it appeared that he had not known how to share when he was growing, unlike Julianna who was used to playing (although often boisterously) with others.

Jason scratched his head in confusion, he was not used to dealing with two superhuman children and stopping them from killing each other was proving more difficult than one would expect. Julianna was set in her ways about some things, despite being just over a year she was quite spoiled and David seemed even more so. The real question he wanted to ask was why he was stuck babysitting but he supposed the answer was that he was Jean-Claude's wolf, Richard's subordinate and Anita's friend (at least as much as anyone could be her friend), he was also one of the few that they trusted with her life during the few hours that one or another of the parents could not be home.

David had been with them three days and he was proving to be as much as a handful as any small preternatural child would be. Jason thought that his energy reminded him of Nathaniel, maybe it was the blonde hair that did it too. Jason wondered what it would be like to always be the freak that was ridiculed and he had a flashback from his own high school days, it would be hard for David to cope. If Richard had his way David would stay with them for all of that time, would grow at least with a family. Jason had a side bet on the fact that Anita would kill Rafael and become leader of the rats herself so they would take the boy before she would bring him up as her own, it was just an inkling he had.

None of them had accounted for what would really bring David into their ranks as a member of their eclectic family.

\-------------------

Rafael paced as he waited for Anita, it was late but he knew that this was really the only time that he could meet with her, he hated being close to the Circus this close to dark but she had called and unless he wanted the wrath of the Master of the City as well as the Executioner he would answer that call. He was not subservient, he had not been so since Nikalous had ruled the city and even then he had not been completely submissive but Anita was scary and he did not want to get on the wrong side of Jean-Claude either.

"Hi, Anita said you could go on in." Jason said as he saw the Rat King pacing nervously, it appeared he was perfectly comfortable with being subjugated by a human woman; still Anita was as much one of the monsters as any of them were if not more so and he knew why Jason might be scared.

"Thanks." He said distractedly as he entered the room that was Jean-Claude's office, he had been here a few times before but the last time had been for the big battle against Marcus and he wondered if the experience would forever colour his view of the Circus.

"Good Evening Anita." He greeted as he went in, his smile faded as he saw the small boy that Richard had tried giving to him sitting in her lap.

"I wish it were." She said and he knew that she was in a bad mood, the problem was that with most women a bad mood just meant PMT but with Anita it probably meant death. "You see I was quite happy with the one child when Richard tells me that we have a second one to look after."

"Want Cookie." David said as he shifted in Anita's grasp, she bounced him gently but made it clear that he was not going to leave her lap while she still had a firm grasp, if anything he was a fast learner as he quieted quickly and did not attempt to appeal to her feminine maternal side, the tears and pout did not work, at least not with her.

"He's not mine Anita." Rafael said. "And we don't have the resources to deal with him. We're not like the pack, I don't have a tithing system."

Anita frowned, she knew about the system of taxation that Richard had kept, although it was only those that could afford it that paid. It was part of pack law, older than any of the members that said that they had to pay to keep the younger and infirm members of the pack, it appealed to Richard's philanthropic side to keep it when he had abolished so many of the other outdated laws. Now Anita could see why it was a good idea.

"Surely you could rally around to deal with him, or at least find a family that are sympathetic." She said, but even as she spoke the words she knew that it was probably impossible. In some states Lycanthropes were still hunted for skin, sport or just through basic misunderstanding and many people were less sympathetic to the cause than they could have been.

"The welfare system is there for kids like him." Rafael said, she knew that he was right but she had promised Richard that they would deal with it, there were some days she hated her role as pack mother, pard queen and maternal figure to half the monsters in the city, those that did not fear her wanted to fuck her and she had never worked out where the big Cheese of the Rat World fell into that system. "I can't do anything about it."

Rafael watched for a moment as he saw Anita pause, she let out a small yawn and blinked and he heard a gentle cry from the next room, it didn't seem to make sense until a few moments later Jean-Claude appeared as if from nowhere with the bouncing baby in his arms. Julianna was as bonny as her mother would have been without the homicidal tendencies but Rafael was not interested in the child, either of the children, his mind was too busy focusing on finding a way out.

"Don't you like children?" Asher said, his face a mask of threat but with a tone of real inquisition in his voice. Anita's face folded as she saw the fear that crossed Rafael's face. He was one of the strongest people she knew, he had faced more than one Master and had lived through the Council's 'visit' to the city. Why then was he scared of one of the lesser Vampires of the City?

"I see that you have been keeping things from me again old friend." Jean-Claude said as a wicked smile crossed his face, had there not been an edge of murder in his eyes as he spoke the words Anita would have been turned on, as it was she was just confused.

"We can't do it Asher." Rafael said. "There is no way that the boy would fit in to the pack, not our pack at any rate." He said as he looked pointedly at Julianna, his meaning was clear, they had one child what more could another hurt.

"I don't know. From what I hear the boy would fit in quite well with your Mischief of Rats." Asher said, his grasp of English was clearly better than Jean-Claude's if he could make such jokes, and yet there was a humourlessness to his tone as if he had not meant it as a joke at all.

"He's one of you." Jean-Claude said. "You ought to look after those in your family Rafael, who knows what will happen otherwise." There was a threat there, obviously something was going on that Anita did not understand.

"Hold on there boys." She said as she shifted David to the other side of the sofa but fixing him with a hard glare, she needed her right hand free for shooting but did not want either of the toddlers caught in the crossfire. Both were stronger due to their lycanthrope blood but she was not going to risk either getting shot to test the theory that they should survive. "Would someone like to tell me the point of this Alpha male crap? We all know I'm more Alpha than any of you." This was an obvious challenge and she was glad that Richard was at home and not in the room with them, he would have seen it as a threat.

"Didn't they tell you?" Rafael asked with bemused wonder. "Asher has some more powers than he's been letting on, it seems the Master has not only a Human Servant now but an Animal to call."

"And it's the rats." Anita postulated, Rafael nodded but his smile slipped as he did so. It was obvious that he was not happy about it.

"So if he tells you that you have to look after David and you don't what will he do?" She asked, it was an obvious enough question but Rafael shrugged.

"That is why he will take the boy with him." Asher said with an edge of daring to his voice, almost as if he was looking forward to Rafael saying no so that he could punish him. "I can be quite imaginative where torture is involved."

Anita looked to Jean-Claude and heard a suppressed laugh coming from Rafael as she did so, it was obvious that he did not think the Master of the City would save him if there were any punishment to be doled out. Why should he, the rats were hardly needed to consolidate his power now he had not only the triumvirate but the combined power of Pard and Pack on his side, the rats would not stand at his side but nor were they strong enough to stand in his way.

"Hello David." Rafael said with a sigh. "I'm Rafael, but you can call me Rafe." He said, not in a patronising tone but surprisingly a friendly one. Anita wondered what else she did not know about the boy. "We're going to find you a nice family to stay with, Okay?"

David shrugged as he sulked but Anita knew that at least she did not have to take him in. She was more worried about if the Council knew about Asher's new powers or how it would affect things if they knew that he had grown out of their clutches, maybe that was the reason that they had kept him there for so long. Maybe she needed to talk to Damian and ask him to look into it, she felt a little guilty asking him but it was the only one of the Vampires that she trusted and even that trust was tentative.

As Rafael left with David in tow she wondered what would become of the boy and hoped that he went to a good home, maybe she would look into that too, it was then she realised that despite her objections she had developed an attachment to the boy. She went to take Julianna to get her settled again and was glad that her daughter was too young to understand the politics of such events, it made her worry what it would be like for Julianna growing up.

\------------

Part 4a – Settling In.

\-----------

Rafael paced the room with the crying toddler in his arms, for a two year old David was surprisingly strong and lashed out at the smallest touch that he deemed to be an attack, he was certain that the child had been abused but then a lot of wereanimals were. There was something that people did not understand about lycanthropy and that was that it was a disease much like any other. David was an innocent infected with it and yet he had a future ahead of him where discrimination and pain would be his friends. It was mainly this that had made him take the kid in.

There had been a lot of weight thrown around at the meeting that night, he was certain that they had left with the impression that he was obeying orders from Asher but really he was just tired of seeing the boy passed from pillar to post. One of his own, a young girl named Shannon had come forward and told him that the boy would face years alone in foster care if he was not claimed as Pack; she had grown in a foster home after being infected aged 14 and the 4 years of care had jaded her into working at one of the many Lycanthrope bars in the district, it was that and the look of fear on David's face as he had walked in that made him want to help the boy.

He was not afraid of Asher, he knew that he could not stand against the full power of all in the city but they had held power before the triumvirate against Nikolaus and could do it again if they had to, Rats did not give in and they never would. If Jean-Claude thought that it was his influence that ruled him then so be it, he could do without the hassle and if the Master thought he was loyal it would save any problems that Jean-Claude may have with the growing population of Rats in the city. It was not as if he was building an army it was just that two of the Southern clans had been slaughtered and the cities were beginning to clear out the sewers were many lone Rats lived, a lot were seeking refuge within his realm knowing that he was a firm but fair ruler and so he held much more power in his hand. None of the main monsters in the city knew of his power yet and he would keep it that way for as long as possible.

David finally fell asleep in his arms, a soft toy clutched in his small hands. On first impression Rafael had hated the boy but as he watched him sleep he saw an innocence that would not have been preserved had he not helped him; the rat king was sure that at a few hours a week each or more he could divide up care for the boy, keeping it in the family as it were. David was one of them now and they looked after their own.

\------------

Part 5 - Awakenings.

Julianna liked being out with her father, Papa was always too busy sleeping to take her out to play and even Asher didn't go out much so it was only when she was with Daddy that she could go to the park or anywhere else. She had a lot of toys to play with inside but nothing really made up for being out in the sunshine.

Richard watched his daughter carefully as she played amongst the other children, it was just after a full moon so he was safe and she seemed to enjoy spending time with the others. For eighteen months old she was very forward in her social skills but being with other children was something that she got to do less than he would like. As a teacher he understood the need for her to mix with her peers and was worried that she spent far too much time with adults, either those that sat for her or those that worked at the Circus. He was busy lost in his thoughts when she came to him with a big smile.

"Daddy look." She said as she showed him the cut that was on her knee, it looked fresh but it was not bleeding. As he watched the small graze began to close on it's own. She had not cried at all but one of the other children had obviously been in an accident too as he was wailing loudly. Richard scooped Julianna into his arms and wrapped a hand over the healing flesh, to the onlooker it looked as if he were trying to stem the bleeding or get rid of the boo-boo but really he was trying to stop the other parents and toddlers from seeing that his child was less than human. He knew that it was illegal to discriminate but that had never stopped people from petty name calling or sometimes much worse. Julianna did not need that.

"It's okay baby." He said as he bounced her gently on his hip. "Daddy will make it all better."

"I'm okay." She said with a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes, it reminded him of Anita when she was a lot more bashed up and sometimes facing death. He had a brief flash of the future and wondered what it would be like if Julianna grew up like her mother. He did not want her to die young because like her mother she thought she was invincible, he would have to teach her differently.

"Come on kiddo, time to go home." He said as he swung her up so that she sat on his shoulders. Six feet in the air Julianna giggled as she surveyed the world from a great height, it was as if she were flying. The childish giggles only added to Richard's resolve that she needed a normal childhood, the innocence that she carried was not lost on him and he wanted to preserve that as best he could.

\-------------

Jason was working on the books of the Circus when the knock came, he didn't expect anyone so he was cautious when he answered, he had not expected to find the beaten corpse that lay there. He could smell the fear that permeated the body, it was obvious that whoever had done this was angry at the Master or the wolves, and that they had tortured the man to the point of death because of that anger. It was only when the body moved slightly that he realised that it was not just a man but a wolf, Stephen lay barely conscious on the door step of the Circus moaning in pain. Swallowing the bile that had risen at his realisation Jason picked up the man and whispered a silent prayer that whoever had done this would not do it again before Anita could find them.

Jason carried Stephen to the office, conscious that Julianna was due back with Richard and that it was not a sight for a young child to bear witness to. She was Pack but that was no reason to subject her to the horrors of their lives just yet.

Richard smelt the distress as he entered the Circus, his first instinct was to get Julianna away but he could sense the strong smell of lukoi inside and as Ulfric he was supposed to put his wolves first. It was a hard decision to make but as he crossed the threshold he knew that he had done the right thing. He made his way to Julianna's room, the room that she shared with Anita and put her down on the floor with enough toys to occupy her and then left to find the problem, as soon as he found it he could send one of the others to watch her, for now the Pack was at the forefront of his mind.

Stephen was unconscious in a pool of his own blood, whoever had beaten him had used silver nitrate on the wounds to keep them open, it was only trace elements and not enough to kill but it meant that even seeing to the wounds could cause a problem for other members of pack. When Richard found them Jason had a nasty wound on his hand from the substance, almost a burn and Stephen was close to death. Richard wanted to share blood with Stephen in the hope that it would help him but he didn't dare get too close if he were to end up like Jason too. He fought for an idea and was deep in thought when Julianna toddled into the room, her favourite toy in tow.

Sigmund had seen a lot of violence for a stuffed toy that he was now the favoured of the Child of the triumvirate was almost fitting, he had been covered in blood, rotting flesh and indecipherable guts, baby sick was nothing new. Now the slightly worn penguin fell from Julianna's hand as she moved toward Stephen.

Jason reached for her immediately, he was not sure how the nitrate would affect her but more importantly she should not see such violence. He got as far as grabbing the overalls that she wore before he felt the power that rushed through her. He had felt Anita's power before, had felt her channel the Munin when she had been on her way to the Greeting Ceremony with the other Pack but it was still a shock to feel it coming from a child that could barely do anything on her own. Stephen was visibly healing as the power rushed out of her tiny body and Jason felt the burn on his hand begin to itch and tingle as it too healed.

"Richard." Jason called as he found his voice, the Ulfric turned and saw his child doing the job that he should have done. He reached out and as soon as he touched her the power levels increased until Stephen was conscious enough to want to pull away, even after the contact was broken he continued to heal for a few seconds until he was almost completely well. Richard was thrown against the wall with the strength as the combined power exited his system and he held Julianna close to his chest. Stephen blinked as he sat up, a groan as the muscles that had knitted themselves back together ached.

"What the hell happened?" Stephen asked, his voice slightly awed as he looked at his completely healed self.

"You don't want to know." Jason said as he made no attempt to hide the tremor in his own voice. "Believe me, you don't want to know."

\-----------------

Anita watched as they slept and could hardly believe the story that Jason had relayed; she had known that Julianna had power but not that she would have as much power as Anita was just discovering she had. The fact that her daughter could call the Munin and had death magic made her a necromancer and that in itself worried Anita; the only other necromancers that she had met were true evil having succumbed to the powers that they were given and she now had another one living on her turf. The only thing that she could do was make sure that she brought Julianna up to fully understand the strength of her power.

The question would be whether or not her daughter would become more powerful than she was or whether it was just that she had been exposed to a more open minded world and therefore was aware of the power of the pack more than Anita was before she had met Richard.

Anita watched as the door behind her opened and a concerned Asher entered the room; he must have known what had occurred as his first thought was for Julianna, the child that he had saved and loved as if she were his own. Jean-Claude had once told Anita that he loved her as much as he was able and she could see that the same was true for Asher and Julianna; the Vampire had perhaps lost his life but there was still within him some force that made him capable of love and he had found it again with the birth of her child.

Julianna woke gently as Asher cradled her in his arms, having taken several moments to separate her from her father's warm embrace. She opened her brown eyes and stared up at him a look of sheer adoration on her face and a sleepy smile spreading on her lips. The innocence of it all detracted Anita's attention away from the problem at hand for a brief moment but as Asher moved to the chair in the corner she knew that her child was protected and she had other things to attend to. As Lupa it was her duty to rule when the Ulfric was unable and she had to deal with the attack on Stephen, no one knew why he had been attacked but he had had a few hours to recover and now she had questions, the first being who it was that had hit him and the second if he knew of a motive. Before making her way to the office where he waited she checked that her guns were in place, not because she would shoot him, no he had long been on her list as someone to protect, but because whoever had hurt him had also subjected her child to pain and she would not let that go unpunished.

\----------------

Part 6 - A Done Deal.

They felt the power in the city that night, the animals at the zoo paced their cages wildly as they felt it grow, there was a new force there amongst them and its hunger fed their needs too. The lycanthropes felt an unease amongst them, as the hours of night unfolded reports came in of more attacks, a werepanther here, a rat there, even the small enclave of other animals, those not large enough to have a pack of their own were worried that the attacks seemed indiscriminate of race and that all lycanthropes were hit. Stephen knew nothing of his attack and the same report came from those lycanthropes that were able to talk about their ordeal. It was clear that whatever it was that they were about to face was bigger than all of them.

Anita was pacing liked a caged animal, she could feel the tension in the Munin but she was not sure what it was that caused the spirits such unrest, usually she could control it unless it was called. Richard was just as edgy and Julianna too seemed affected by the power of whatever it was that was within the city limits, the power was immense and that alone caused Anita to fear it.

"What is it?" Asher asked quietly, he was clearly talking to himself but Julianna responded instinctively to the sound of his voice, she went to him and cuddled close, wanting him to take away the pain, he could not of course but he picked her up and held her tightly, two of her three parents were preoccupied and Jean-Claude was nowhere to be found.

"Oue est Jean-Claude?" He asked, thinking aloud in his native language and then coughing before he spoke again. "Anita, where is your Master?" Asher asked, Anita stared at him but did not respond immediately, her gaze fell on Richard and then she reached for her gun.

"I don't know." She said as she took off at a fast pace, "but we can soon find out."

\------------------

Anita found Jean-Claude in the office, he was talking with one of his newest Vampires, one that Anita barely knew. He was a little over 500 years old, he would not be a Master too soon but there was a low thrum of power that made him seem stronger than he was, but after the revelations of Asher and with memories of Warrick still fresh in her mind she was not about to take any chances.

"Ah, Ma Petite, How are you this evening?" He asked, the tone was soft and welcoming but she knew him well enough to know that he was hiding something, she had been with Jean-Claude long enough now to be able to read his thoughts. "I do not believe that you have met Elijah."

"Cut the bullshit Jean-Claude, I don't have time for this. What do you know about the attacks on the wereanimals of the city?" Anita asked, the gun was at her side but her trigger finger twitched and she knew that although it would not kill him that the silver bullets would hurt like hell, the only problem was that she would feel it too - her solution was to shoot him in the left side.

"You wound me Ma Petite, I do not know anything of these 'attacks'." He said, but then he always carefully worded his responses, she was sure the time at court had taught him that. "What would I gain from such a venture?"

"The one thing that you crave more than any other, Mon ami, power." Asher said from his position leaning on the door frame. Anita was tempted to turn but knew that with her back turned to him she was more disadvantaged; there was a time that she would not have trusted Asher at all, now as she kept her back to him and faced off against Jean-Claude she was trusting him with her life.

"I do not know what you mean." Jean-Claude said openly, a wide grin on his face that reminded Anita of the wolf in little red riding hood. Of course in the original version of the fairy tale the wolf had eaten red riding hood, she was not about to let Jean-Claude do the same to her.

"The deal that you made with the council, the one that we were not to know about and not to tell Anita about." Asher said calmly and Anita wondered if this would be a challenge between them, she knew from what little she had heard that wars had been fought over less. "The call that the lycanthropes feel is their Master returned, but I ask what it is that you gave for what they were offering."

"Would someone tell me what is going on here?" Anita said. "While I am enjoying the show down all of the testosterone in this room is giving me a headache."

"Ah, Ma Petite, you always did have a way with words." Jean-Claude said with a slight chuckle, Anita pinned him with a glare and then looked to Elijah and finally to Asher, she risked turning half away from Jean-Claude to do so hoping that her reactions would be quick enough if he did decide to attack.

"I thought that Damian would have told all to his Mistress." Asher said and there was a tone of contempt in his voice. "Jean-Claude has been making deals with the council to keep them out of his lands, Morte D'Amour has been pushing the point that we are building an army to rival their council and that we killed Malcolm as he was loyal to the council. Jean-Claude was keeping them away so that they will not come and see how powerful your child has become."

"What did you give them Jean-Claude?" Anita asked, knowing that there had to be a price for everything, Jason had almost paid dearly as had many of the other werewolves and she was sure that Rafael would never forget his own time with the council. "What were the conditions of the deal?"

"It is simple Ma Petite, they will send a representative that will see how we are faring and we will give them full priveleges for their stay." Jean-Claude said plainly, Anita shivered as she remembered what that had meant last time, still at least it was only one of the Council, her hopes were that it was the Traveller as he had already felt her unborn child and was also the easiest to deal with of the petty members that she had met.

"When will they be here?" Anita asked, there was a cough from behind her and she saw a truly white Jason in the door way, behind him was a face that she had thought she would never see again, she had held his heart in her hands and felt it beating but she was still no closer to knowing how he ticked.

"Do you still dream of me Lupa?" Padma asked from his vantage point behind Asher. "I dream of you; I hunger for the power that you give." He said, Jason growled and Anita felt the Munin rise within her as Padma began to call her beast. He had done it before and almost killed them both in the process, she did not want to be this close to him again.

"Do not stretch your welcome here Master of Beasts." Asher said curtly, Padma turned to him, apparently forgetting Anita for a moment.

"Do not think that your Master will protect you now." Padma retorted. "Your powers put you on your own." He said, Asher knew that it was true, he was a stronger Master than before and he would have to fight his battles alone, as a Master Vampire with an animal to call he could not even hide behind Jean-Claude anymore although he was not sure that his allegiance still fell to his brother in arms.

"Welcome Master of Beasts. I see that you are already hunting on our land." Jean-Claude said and suddenly the beatings were explained. Padma nodded with a grin and Anita knew that there would be trouble, she turned on her heel to leave wanting to check on Julianna.

Her daughter was all that mattered and while Padma was around she wanted to be sure that he would not take Julianna's life in place of Fernando's.

\-------------------

Part 7 - Padma's Revenge.

Anita was on edge, it had been two days since Padma had come to their city on business, allegedly to see the new child that had been born and make sure that Julianna was not too powerful. Anita had made sure that the wolves and leopards were protected as much as was possible, especially those that were still in counselling from the last time. Jason was the only one that refused to hide, showing his true mettle by staying there when she had told him she would stand up to Jean-Claude on his behalf, she supposed that having faced Yvette with his massive fears of those that rotted on him before he could easily deal with Padma.

Anita knew that she was not alone in her fears, Richard had ordered that all the wolves were to stay indoors and if possible only travel in groups, this may not stop them being hunted but at least they had a chance to fight back, after all if anyone, even the Master of Beasts attacked them they were sanctioned by Lore to fight back. Rafael was the only one that was openly defiant, he had armed many of his rats and had given them permission to kill Padma on sight if they felt threatened, he was not aligned to the Master of the City, nor was he Asher's lap dog and he was using this as his oppurtunity to prove that. After all he had no real reason for Vampire politics and he had stood up to Padma once before, he could do it again.

The waiting was perhaps the worst part of the game that they were involved in. Not knowing if or when Padma would return or what his visit would cost them. Anita was sure that Jean-Claude knew where the Vampire and his entourage were staying, they would have rooms somewhere or other in order to rest during the day, however he was not telling anyone where they were, was not even talking to anyone unless he had to and somehow he was evading all attempts by his girlfriend to even get close. She should have known that the visitor would not put off his visit for too long and on the fourth night The Master of Beasts arrived, dressed in the full regalia that his last visit had required and followed by his own Servant and Animal.

"So Executioner, when are we to see the child that has caused such a furore in the chambers of council?" He asked formally, Anita was about to open her mouth when Asher came in carrying the child, her child and paused a moment before handing Julianna over.

"I trust that you will respect the laws passed by your own council and that my Human Servant will not be harmed." Asher said as he watched Padma look at the young girl with hunger in his eyes, not the sexual hunger that they had witnessed before but the type a dingo might get before devouring a human child, an empty look of yearning for fresh meat.

"She is marked only once, fair game." Padma said firmly, his eyes lit with humour. "Perhaps I will take her as a slave of my own."

"She deserves the rights of a servant whether one mark or three." Jean-Claude said as he entered, dressed as Anita had remembered him in one of his open necked shirts, it's frilled sleeves flowing at the wrists and at the opening which showed off his buff chest. "You agreed to the rules before you came here Master of Beasts, don't make me tell Ms. Blake what she may do if you break them."

"What is that exactly?" Anita asked. "I think I missed the Memo."

"Ma Petite, now is not the time for your misplaced humour." Jean-Claude warned her as he held up a hand. He walked to the centre of the room where Anita stood and took her hand in his, holding her to him as he did so and making sure that she would not go to Julianna's aid.

"I feel the power of the child." Padma said. "She is the best of her parents."

"Thank you." Anita said, but Jean-Claude glared at her.

"That is not necessarily a good thing Lupa. You were already seen as dangerous as a triumvirate, with a fourth you could be even more powerful."

"She is my Human Servant." Asher put in, earning him a glower from Jean-Claude too, Anita was glad that she was not the only one that was in his bad books tonight. "I control her, no one else."

"But would she have the power to control you as her mother controls this city's Master?" Padma asked, clearly baiting one or other of them to argue, it was Jean-Claude that stepped up to the plate this time.

"No one controls me but me." Jean-Claude said curtly, his tone harsh and bringing out the accent that he usually worked well to hide. A thick French/English mix rather than his usual sensuous flow. "I follow no one but the Council." He ammended hastily. Padma showed teeth, a flash of fang as if he was posturing and Anita could almost hear the 'You're not the boss of me' in Jean-Claude's tone.

"It remains to be seen if this child is too powerful to live." Padma stated almost offhandedly. His servants had stayed back for the moment and Anita could see that they were doing so partly for her benefit, she had held a respect for them since their first meeting and she was sure that Gideon especially held her in high regard. "How do I know that you are not shielding her true powers from me?"

"How do we know that you won't just tell the Council that she needs killing anyway?" Anita countered. This time she felt a tight hand grip her arm.

"I believe that the child holds too much power." Padma roared laughing as he did so. Anita's anger had caused the Munin to rise in the room and Julianna had reacted to the power that surged through her mother. It was clear that there was still some bond between mother and daughter beyond the usual familial one. "I cannot believe that you fell for that Lupa, I had thought you more cautious."

Anita fought as Jean-Claude held her back and Padma reached to take Julianna.

"Don't worry Lupa, I might ask that I can adopt her for myself. She would make a good replacement for Fernando. Of course I could also ask for her as my concubine, given a few years she will be old enough." There was a harsh laugh in his voice as he said the words as if he had been planning this deception the entire time. Asher moved but was not swift enough to get to her before she had been swept up completely in to the Master of Beast's arms.

It was Gideon that moved, completely unsuspectedly he drew a silver blade from his outfit, a concealed weapon that he was not supposed to have and cut his Master's throat. Padma dropped the child in reflex and put his hand to his throat in time to see Gideon fall to his knees.

Anita watched in synchrenisity as the three members of the other power group all fell. Gideon grabbed the knife and stabbed it through his Master's heart while still choking for his own breathe. As soon as they were still Jean-Claude let Anita go free, she moved to Gideon just in time to hold him as he took his last breathes.

"Why?" She asked, not sure why he would do such a thing, betray his own people in such a way when he had only been able to bend the rules before.

"Because she is powerful, and she could be the saviour of us all…" He gasped as he said the last words, as if fighting for breath and then died, falling limp in Anita's arms as he did so. Anita heard a low mewling, as if mourning and saw Caleb, one of the werepanthers by the third of the now dead truimvirate, mourning a lycanthrope that had been part of the war that no one knew was being fought.

"It is done." Jean-Claude said simply and Asher looked at him, a moment before Anita said anything Asher spoke.

"All of this was a ruse?" Asher asked, Jean-Claude smiled as he said nothing but Elijah, the newer Vampire stepped out of the shadows.

"If she were powerful enough then the child would have saved herself. Her mother held his heart in her hands and almost killed Padma but the child could not." Elijah said. "She is blessed and will be the strongest that we can produce but she will not hold off the whole Council."

"Traveller?" Asher asked, this earned him a simple nod from Elijah.

"Then you were the one sent?" Again a simple nod, as if words would ruin the moment. Anita was almost sickened by the smugness of the traveller and Jean-Claude.

"Does this mean that we will have another visit from the Council now that another of your members died in the city?" She asked, almost dreading what would happen next time one of them set foot in the city of St. Louis.

"He was killed by his Human Servant, an unfortunate oversight on his part really, but nothing we could have foreseen."

Anita thought it over for a moment before she spoke, when she did she was pretty sure that she had it sussed out.

"You wanted him dead, this was just an excuse to get rid of him." She said. Elijah nor his symbiot spoke but the smile began to make sense now, as if he was the Vampire that had gotten the blood bank (or whatever the vampiric equivalent of the cat with the cream was). "And now Padma is dead you are five again, an odd number to make decisions."

"That is a side effect of this event." The Traveller/Elijah hybrid acknowledged, still giving nothing away. "Watch out for your child Anita Blake." He said as he turned to leave. "She is indeed blessed but there are others that will seek her power."

"And this is my last free ride?" She guessed, but the Vampire was already gone and she was sure that she would not see him again. Jean-Claude turned to go but before he could he found himself pinned to the wall. He had always admired how spirited Anita could be, he supposed that this was the consequence of that.

"You *ever* pull something like that again and I'll break every bone in your body." She said as she applied pressure to his throat, she knew to back off when she began to feel it in her own, just a tickle really but it was enough to know that she was doing damage.

"Ah Ma Petite, you do not fully understand…" He said and Anita glared at him harshly, if there was one thing she hated more than being lied to it was being patronised.

"All I understand is that you let your daughter nearly die." Anita said, as she went to check Julianna who was resting comfortably in Asher's arms. As if by some calling it was then that Richard chose to walk in, having missed the good action, the time when he really would have been needed.

"I felt you use your powers Anita, what did I miss?" Richard didn't understand the glare that he got from Anita as she walked off or the deep laugh from Jean-Claude.

\-------------------------

Epilogue

Anita sat with the file that Dolph had sent her open on her lap, she was looking for some reason to explain away the lycanthrope beatings that he had reported to her, but nothing seemed to come up. She was too worried about what she had found out after Padma's death.

The deal that Jean-Claude had brokered with the Council meant that they were literally alone. The council would visit them again, nor would they intervene if anything were to go wrong. Anita thought of Obsidian Butterfly, the Vampire she had briefly met on a trip, doing a favour for Edward. The Council did not hold sovereignty in her lands either, somehow though Anita could not see her calling the other woman for advice.

St. Louis had become somewhat the Mecca for outcast Vamps or asylum seeking lycanthropes from all around the surrounding area and she wondered what this new ruling would do. It was almost giving them the ability to set up a new state, but the Council would not allow that, Jean-Claude was still bound to his own master and that meant that indirectly he was bound to the Council. They just had a little more flexibilty than most with the laws.

As she heard the laugh of her daughter who was currently playing in the room next to her Anita began to ponder Gideon's words. Julianna was in his mind the saviour of them all, but she did not know what that meant. Perhaps it was just he words of a dying madman, or maybe Julianna truly was blessed. She supposed only time would tell.

END


End file.
